The term “body-on-frame” is commonly used in automotive manufacturing to describe a particular vehicle configuration in which a vehicle body is mounted to a separate chassis frame. While modern passenger cars tend to have a unibody or monocoque construction, the use of body-on-frame construction remains common in the manufacturing of trucks and cargo vans. In such vehicles, the use of welded steel beams or rails in forming the vehicle frame provides a relatively durable design with improved towing capacity and increased payload size.
To build a body-on-frame vehicle, a vehicle frame is typically conveyed along an assembly line in an inverted position as underlying chassis components are installed, such as suspension components, brake lines, and the like. The partially assembled chassis is turned over from the inverted position into an upright position to facilitate installation of the engine, transmission, and other powertrain components. A vehicle body is ultimately mated with the assembled chassis farther along the assembly line, such as by lowering the assembled body onto the fully assembled chassis via an overhead crane.